Telecom Italia (TI) has completed a small part of the US$960m disposal of its controlling 22.7% stake in Telecom Argentina to Fintech, the vehicle of Mexican investor David Martinez.
In a statement TI said it has completed the sale of direct and…
Telecom Italia (TI) has completed a small part of the US$960m disposal of its controlling 22.7% stake in Telecom Argentina to Fintech, the vehicle of Mexican investor David Martinez.
In a statement TI said it has completed the sale of direct and indirect stakes in Telecom Argentina held by its subsidiary Tierra Argentea to Fintech for a total of US$109m.
The bulk of the deal involves the transfer of its 68% stake in Sofora Telecommunicaciones for US$751m. Sofora in turn controls the Argentinian telco’s majority shareholder Nortel Inversora.
TI said closing of the Sofora stake sale will take place after certain regulatory approvals are received.
The Italian incumbent’s board authorised the sale in November as it looks to tackle its debt pile, which stood at €28.23bn at the end of September.
TI’s CEO Marco Patuano has said it plans to hold on to its majority stake in TIM Brasil, describing the asset as “core”. However that presents an issue for Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade, which is concerned about the extent of Telefonica’s influence since it raised its stake in TI a few months ago. Telefonica also controls Vivo, a fierce rival of TIM Brasil.
